


Jeremy Heere, BUT WITH MUSCLES

by zellymaybloom



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: (i still love her i swear), Fluff, M/M, So take that as you will, but not that much i guess, i like mention christine once aha whoops, its all pretty coolio i guess, they do the smoochins, yeah lol they broke up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-05
Updated: 2017-05-07
Packaged: 2018-10-28 06:01:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10825230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zellymaybloom/pseuds/zellymaybloom
Summary: Aight so we all know Jeremy had to do them sex push ups right?? Imagine him... But with muscles... And a tanktop. NOW IMAGINE MICHAEL'S GAY ASS SEEING THAT.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> lmao first fic!! I have testing this week and no hw soooo fanfic yayyyy!! I legit wrote this in one sitting hah.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY SO THE NEXT CHAPTER IS PREQUEL NOT A CONTINUATION SO IF YOU WANNA READ IT IN ORDER GO READ THAT FIRST OKAY THANKS BYE

Michael did his absolute best to _not_ stare at Jeremy’s arms. It was a weird thing to notice, but when the hell did he get muscles?

_Not that he was complaining of course._

It was a few months after the whole Squip incident, and they were finally out of school. Jeremy had come over to his house to play video games, and Michael just couldn’t help but notice that he was wearing… _A tank top._ Just your average tank top, showing off his matching Pac Man tattoo. Gray. Nintendo written across the chest. Not that it was weird or anything. No, of course not; his companion had worn that tank top many times last summer. It was just that this time… Jeremy was sporting the muscles to go with it.

Neither of them had ever really been into sports. Michael attempted to do soccer for a while, but managed to miss the ball when trying to kick. Not to mention he had been hit in the face far too many times for him to admit. Jeremy, on the other hand, had tried out for the basketball team in fifth grade, but it turns out that he knew less about basketball than he thought he did. How was he supposed to know that you can’t walk while holding the ball? Let’s not forget their sad mile times, formless push-ups, and painful sit-ups. Both of them were _well_ below the passing standards, and needless to say, had an F in P.E.

So what happened? 

This muscle wasn’t like Rich’s. He hadn’t noticed any bulk beneath Jeremy’s snuggly sweaters, jackets, and cardigans. During piggyback rides, there wasn’t much extra weight. Jeremy was still pretty thin, but now, he was sculpted. It was a good look for him. _Real good._ To Michael, he seemed kind of _foxy_ with that grin, and in all honesty… 

_Downright sexy._

He couldn’t think straight, not that he did on a normal day. They were playing Apocalypse of the Damned like they always did, now on level 19, grinding their way through “Downtown From Hell”. It was pretty clear, though, that Michael was off his game. Normally, he was great. He’d shoot zombies left and right and Jeremy would cheer him on in delight as he skirted past the guts to find the entrance to the next level. “Normally,” though, was without Mr. Muscles next to him biting his lip with a concentrated look in his eyes. Michael kept glancing over at him every ten seconds and kept getting mauled. He knew it wasn’t exactly helping the team, but he just looked so damn good!

Like, when was the last time he hugged him? He would have to hug him now as soon as possible. He had to feel him. Wait, no that sounds kinda’ dirty. That’s not to say he wouldn’t _mind_ feeling him. He’s had a thing for him since seventh grade. _Ugh._ He’s always been so supportive and nice, and he didn’t even care when he told him he was gay! Did that mean he was gay? No, he couldn’t be because he likes Christine. Maybe he’s bi? They broke up and only dated for li-

 _“MICHAEL!”_ Jeremy shouted.

“I, uhhh, what? Sorry about that dude, haven’t been feeling too hot today and I just… Yeah. Sorry.” Michael could feel his face turning pink. 

_I fucking got caught staring nooooo…_

“Oh okay. Yeah, it’s fine man...” Jeremy paused the game and stared for a moment; Michael just felt himself getting warmer. It was spreading to his ears. He could just feel it. Then, his long time crush’s confused face morphed into concern. “Hey, are you alright? You’re um… You’re all red. Do you have a fever or something? The medicine is in your cabinet, right? I can go get it? We can stop playing if you want! Or um, I mean if you want to keep playing, we can I guess. You don’t have to listen to me I just kinda’ recommend you get some rest because I care and all that...”

Jeremy’s hand was on his forehead, and his other arm, _with muscles_ , was around his waist guiding him to lay down on the bed. And, he just said that he _cared_. Michael could have died happy at that moment. Fuck Apocalypse of the Damned.

Michael could barely speak. “You don’t need to get me anything. But, yeah... I guess we can stop playing.” At that, he allowed himself some time to relax and laid down. 

This was relaxation was cut down rather short. With his arm still around him, Jeremy laid next to him. Michael tensed up for a while until he could truly relax.

“Hey, so uh you ready for summer?” Jeremy had asked.

“Huh? What ohhhhh yeaaaah suuuuure… No popular kids, no problems right? And ah, no supercomputers.”

_When the hell do I ask about the muscles?_

“Yup’. Just us bros. Stickin’ it out.”

_The conversation is dying crap what do I say?_

“Yeah.”

_NOT THAT._

“So, this is kinda weird and random, but like I um, thought I’d let you know I’ve actually been going to the gym?”

Michael sat right up as he yelled in revelation, “OH SO _THAT’S_ HOW YOU GOT THAT HOT SUMMER BOD!”

Jeremy flushed red and sat up as well. Did Michael just say that outloud? Fuck. Was that too gay?

“You um, you noticed that?” Now, he was looking down, grinning sheepishly. He was too cute. Michael couldn’t understand how it was possible.

He managed a frantic reply. “I mean yeah! This is like the first time you’ve worn a tank top this summer, and it shows it all off pretty well. It’s... honestly kinda’ hard to look away, not gonna lie...” Although, _immensely_ embarrassed, he couldn’t exactly deny he’s been staring all day, now could he?

“Ummm… Well, first of all, it’s the first time I’ve worn the tank top _to your house_. I’ve worn one plenty times before… I wear them to the gym. Second, uh, you r-really think so? That like… I-it’s hard to look away and all?”

At this point, Michael was losing his mind, and he was fairly certain Jeremy was too. Good or bad though? Shooting for the good kind, he whispered, “Yeaaaaah… Like, it’s really attractive if that’s not weird to say?”

Hesitantly, Jeremy proposed an offer. “It won’t be weird if... You don’t think it’s weird for me to... show you a picture of myself at the gym?”

Michael’s gay ass replied a _little_ too eagerly. Eyes widened and hands clutched to his chest, he turned and shouted, “YES PLEASE.” Next week, he would be denying the fact that his mouth hung open after answering.

As Jeremy grabbed his phone to look for the picture, Michael wondered why he was even being shown this. Like, that’s such a _weird_ thing to do. Is he flirting with him? Maybe? What else? He can’t get his hopes up though. Did Rich and Jake do this? Maybe they did. Yeah, they totally did! They always tag each other in those gym posts, and Rich and Jake are totally just Bros TM\- Wait didn’t they just get together like at the end of school? Oh my gosh, if they do that and _they’re_ dating does that mean-

Then Michael saw the photo and suddenly remembered why he was gay because

_DAMN._

Jeremy wasn’t _quite_ at the gym. He was in a bathroom at what he assumed was the gym. He had tousled hair like someone just ran their hands through it. Michael wished _he_ could’ve caused that. And he had his _fucking six pack out?!_ Jeremy was wearing a shirt, yeah, the very same shirt he was wearing that day actually. It was just that he was holding the bottom half up with _his mouth. Fucking smirking._ One hand was holding his phone; the other hand was on his hip as he winked at the camera, head tilted back like a sexy bastard.

What. The. Hell. 

Michael snatched the phone out of Jeremy’s hand, much his dismay. He had to have this picture. Quickly, he texted it to himself for… Reasons. Things. Things and reasons he would never admit doing later on. That, and he wanted to set it as his home and lock screen so he could stare at it forever. Of course, _forever_ would probably kill his battery, but who cares when you have a picture like _this?_ He took a moment to ignore his friend’s protests as he set it.

Done with that, he stopped and turned to Jeremy. Didn’t do anything. Just stared.

The center of his attention stammered, “I, uh… So uh… W-what do you think?”

Michael just shot him a look of _“Really?”_ in return. Did he just asked what he thought?

Jeremy seemed to deflate. “I, um, yeah that’s kinda dumb and self-centered… Like, who takes pictures like that? I shouldn’t have ever-”

Fuck it.

“I thought you looked _sexy._ ” Michael let his emotions drop off his face. He was motionless. Expressionless. Then, he wasn’t. He was crawling over to where Jeremy was leaning back on the headboard. He was sitting on his lap now. His hands were on his face, then his shoulders, then trailing down his chest. His eyes seemed hungry, and they weren’t staring into his soul anymore. They were staring at the tank top, where his hands now sat. At his stomach, where he _knew_ there was a six pack. Jeremy can’t photoshop. He’s too broke to ask someone else to do it. That expression couldn’t have been faked. He took that picture with a purpose.

Michael looked back to Jeremy’s eyes over the rim of his glasses. He took them off. Then his hands were back on his face, and they were kissing.

Then it dawned on him that he didn’t have a clue on how to kiss someone. Just as soon as it started, it was over and Michael was leaning back.

However, Jeremy had other ideas. It seemed he had gotten over whatever initial shock was there. Snatching Michael’s wrists, he had pulled him back into his chest, and it was _his_ turn to be caught off guard.

Jeremy’s arms, those really amazing arms that got them there in the first place, were around his waist, and Michael got his wish to run his hands through Jeremy’s soft locks. His touch was perfect. This kiss itself, though, was admittedly pretty sloppy. It was Michael’s first and probably Jeremy’s fourth or fifth after Christine, but it was gentle and warm, and he wouldn’t have changed it for the world. 

Eventually, though, it was Michael who had to pull back for air. He hadn’t the faintest clue on how to juggle making out and breathing. Taking a moment to regain his breath, he untangled his hands from Jeremy’s hair.

Jeremy chuckled softly, resting his forehead against his. “I suppose neither of us have the lung capacity for this.”

Michael gave a cheeky grin in response, “No, but I guess since you’re working out, you’re building your stamina up, ehhh~?”

“I, ah, w-wait no! We just, um- OW!” Red faced and stuttering once again, Jeremy had reeled back and banged his head against the wall.

“Oh sorry! Sorry sorry sorry, I’ll just, ah, get off your crotch, um, okay.”

“Yeah, no offense, but I think I was about to start losing feeling in my thighs.”

“Aha… None taken…” Then, finally coming down from the high of kissing Jeremy, the situation hit him.

He just kissed his crush since seventh grade. After so many years of _yearning_ and _hoping,_ he had done it. He confessed. Sort of. Kissing him got the point well enough across he assumed. Did that mean they were dating though? He hoped it did. Considering he just kissed him, he might as well ask.

“Hey so are we dating? Like boyfriends? Like… Boyf and riends like they always put on our bags?”

Jeremy grabbed his hand shyly smiled. “I uh… I guess we are.”

Michael leaned his head on his _now boyfriend’s_ shoulder, and very quietly asked, “Kay, so I’m glad you took that gym picture because it got me interested, but why did you start going to the gym in the first place?”

He could feel him tense up as he awkwardly responded, “I um… I actually started working out when uh… When I had the Squip? I don’t have it anymore I swear, I just um… he um… I had to do push-ups whenever I thought of sex… And after a while I actually started looking kinda nice, and I liked that. So once it was gone, the habit stuck and I thought, uhhhhh hey why not go to the gym? Aaaand so I did.”

“...How much did you have to think about sex to get so… Irresistible?” Michael was looking him in half confusion and half in awe.

“Not _that much…_ ”

“Yeah, uhuh sure…”

“No! I swear most of it was from the gym!”

Michael giggled, “Ha! Well whatever the reason, it got us together and that’s enough.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt like writing a prequel to the last bit, and now it's all weird and out of order sorry!!! Also sorry it's short i liked how it ended so i kinda left it there

Jeremy had been working on this plan for _months._

Technically.

It began with the push-ups. He had apparently thought of sex too much for the Squip’s comfort, and masturbating wasn't good for his image anyway. So, that had to go. Every time he thought of sex, he had to do a push-up. The concept was simple enough; just five to um… _embarrassingly_ thirty push-ups every day. It had him in pretty decent shape. After a month of this routine, Jeremy found himself being able to actually lift things. He could carry like _eight_ textbooks at a time! That was awesome! Feeling pleased with his new strength, he asked the Squip if there was anything more he could do. He remembered how Squip had chuckled as if that was its plan all along. Whatever that thing wanted, it put him on a fifty day plan to get fit. Of course, Jeremy never got to finish that after the play. He had only made it twenty nine days in. However, there were still results. It made him feel like… Well, everything the Squip was supposed to make him feel. Cool. Confident. Powerful.

So, he continued to work out. He did his morning sit-ups, afternoon pull-ups, and nightly runs through town. Eventually, he even got a gym membership. Fifty days in, he felt like he could do anything. A week later, he even had the girl of his dreams, who he’s been pining after for the last few years. His best friend was still at his side as well. Everything felt perfect to him.

At least it should have. Jeremy was having problems with genuinely being cool. After the whole Squip incident, people were starting to know his name. Whether it was for better or for worse, he couldn't tell. Regardless, he was noticeable. People like Rich, Jake, Chloe, and Brooke were all acknowledging his existence _positively_ . That was a signal for everyone else to say hi too. It didn’t quite feel right, though. Having people to talk to while waiting for Michael was enjoyable, but sometimes that time would overlap into Michael time. He would arrive, but whoever it was chatting him up would try and invite him to talk for a while or go to a party on Saturday. Sometimes, Jeremy would be pretty close to accepting. But, every time he was asked, his player two would shuffle a little closer to him. A subtle reminder that, _“Hey. Saturday's are for us, okay? Those are our days."_

That had been decided immediately after the Squip was in place. Michael had asked if he would be too cool for video games that day, and he had said no. But that got forgotten due to the Optic Nerve Blocking, and Jeremy always felt too guilty to figure out exactly how many days he lost with him. Because of that, he tried to make it a point to hangout with him as much as possible over summer. 

This was when the plan was formally made. 

In their time together, he had found what he was missing. Previously, he always felt bored with his company. They seemed to lack a quality that he could never pin down. They seemed too quiet, too loud, too up-tight, too sluggish. Jeremy had become used to a very specific type of person. No one seemed right; he even broke up with Christine one week after school had ended. The only person in the fabled goldilocks zone was Michael. And after the Squip, he needed some familiarity anyway. It kept him anchored down to what was real.

As a result, Michael became the center of his attention once more. Being in his presence reminded Jeremy that he still has a best friend and that he is still deserving of his time. That time was usually spent gaming, but when they weren’t, Jeremy was staring.  During this time, he began to see how beautiful Michael really was. He never noticed the subtle downward curve of his mouth when he was expressionless. It made him look rather dramatic, a striking contrast to his goofy, animated self. He was reminded that Michael was just _barely_ an inch or so taller than him. His hair probably added another one. The realization made him feel warm; feeling tall felt awkward for him. Jeremy liked hiding. He could probably hide behind Michael if he wanted. He’d rather not though; his mannerisms were quite a sight to behold. All of his time was spent with a phone or some sort of slushie in his hand. That lead to him only using hand gestures with one hand. He tended to tilt his head with his words too. The most interesting thing Jeremy had seen, though, was how Michael would look at him. His friend was pretty lazy and always had his eyes ever so slightly closed. But, when he turned to look at him, he would brighten up. His eyes would open fully, and Jeremy knew he had his attention. He felt like he had his heart.

When that thought crossed his mind, he realized that it was what he wanted. It would be pretty nice to have a little place in Michael Mell’s heart. The idea scared him. His own heart had already searched for a home with Christine’s, but he had already seen that fail. His first experience with romantic affections was a fail, and he couldn’t mess it up with Michael after spending so long with him. What if he messed up? What if Michael didn’t like him? How could their friendship recover from that? There were just so many ways that this could all go, and-

_It’s going to go nowhere if you just sit and pout._

Jeremy flinched. The Squip. It still spoke to him from time to time in moments of stress like this.

_Go grab your paranoia soda and hear me out, Jeremy. This can work. You have a six year, eight month, and twenty-nine day friendship with Michael. And if I read him right, it’s pretty clear that he has feelings for you as well. I am ninety-two point three seven percent sure you were the reason he came out as gay in the first place. Just work with what you’ve got. You’ll be fine._

Jeremy shook his head, as if trying to shake the Squip out of his head. He didn’t need this right now. Emotional manipulation was at the bottom of his to-do list. In fact, it wasn’t even on the list. He twisted the Mountain Dew Red open and poured himself a glass. But, he stopped when the Squip commented.

_You’re clueless, Jeremy Heere. Absolutely clueless._

The Squip gave out the mental equivalent of a sigh.

_Oh, before you turn me off for another week or so before my inevitable rebooting, I’m just going to let you know now that “what you’ve got,” is muscles. I can tell you’ve been going to the gym. Use those._

Then, Jeremy chugged the whole glass.

  
The next day was spent considering his options, ironically, at the gym. As he worked out, he weighed the options. He could trust the Squip and he could not. If he trusted the Squip and it was right, cool. If the Squip was wrong, Michael would be disgusted by him and probably never talk to him. He would be disappointed in him because he trusted the Squip again for whatever reason and never talk to him again. Alternatively, if he didn’t trust the Squip and it was wrong, also cool. But, if he didn’t trust the Squip it was right, he would never get to be with Michael. He would probably still live a happy life as his best friend; he’d get over his crush eventually.

He put the weight down and ran his hand over his tattoo, matching Michael’s.

What was the _likelihood_ that it was right though? It was wrong with Christine. Although, it had less information for Christine than it did now. He thought back to what the Squip had said to him.

_I’m a supercomputer, Jeremy. I’m made of math._

Fuck it.

After his workout, he thought about how he was going to do this. _Work with what you’ve got… “What you’ve got” is muscles._ What was that supposed to mean? Absent mindedly, he scrolled through Instagram as he walked to the bathroom. At one point, an image caught his attention. It was a picture of Rich at a different gym. He was deadlifting something and smiling at the camera. He had tagged Jake and the image was simply captioned, “WORKIN HARD FOR YOU BABE”. At first, Jeremy snorted. That was show-offy and dumb. Such a Rich thing to do. Then, he really thought about it. This was his answer. He briefly considered going back to lift something, but that seemed a little too far. Impressing Michael with an act of strength wasn’t going to cut it really. Discouraged, he ran a free hand through his hair. Turning, he leaned on the bathroom sink and glared at the mirror. What now?

In a flash of inspiration, he found a solution. _Using_ his muscles may not exactly be all that cool, but perhaps he could take a picture? It was the only thing he felt comfortable with; he had to try. Briefly and awkwardly looking up, “cool poses to show of muscles” he found what he was going to do.

Sighing, he waited for the moment when he was alone in the bathroom. That would be his one shot. It took a little while, but after ten minutes of trying to look normal in a bathroom, he ran back to the sink, assumed the pose, and snapped the photo.

Now, he just had to wait until Saturday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope ya liked it my duuuudes... im on tumblr @zellymaybloom so yee

**Author's Note:**

> Any and all feedback is appreciated thanks for reading ayeeee and find me on Tumblr same name @zellymaybloom


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